Le Fantôme de l'Opéra
by buddy02
Summary: Mai was just a trying to love a normal life. She wasn't particularly good at anything, nor great at achieving things. Mai has to test herself and her reality is thrown away to another time, place and society.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One - Introduction**

It was a great morning to sleep in. It was raining and a young 24 year old Mai had no plans for today. Both of these factors provided a very good invitation to spend the morning in old pyjamas and snuggled under the covers. It was Saturday, which meant no work at the floral shop and no more having to deal with pesky bugs trying to eat your lunch food.

The old floral shop in which Mai worked in was owned by her old and weary grandmother. Now, I know what you're thinking. "Like oh my _gosh_ what a cliché!" But I assure you dear reader, that this story will be full of non-cliché moments and rather realistic situations. Anyway, let us get back to the story. Long ago, in a land far far away, there lived a young woman named Mai. I will not get into the details as I have already introduced her, but only tell you that she was from the small country of England. In which she lived in the town of Amble, where her family had stayed for generations and owned a small floral shop.

Like any other family business, the currently unemployed youngest family member would always work there six days a week, on little pay. This just so happened to be our main character, Mai. Yay! Growing up, Mai had always asked her grandma why their ancestors had decided to open a floral shop. Her grandma would always give the same answer; "My dear, the joy of helping people find happiness is our main objective in life. Why flowers and plants? Well dear Mai, flowers are the fruit of the soul and _always_ brighten spirits."

As a young and unknowledgeable girl, she never really understood her grandmother's words. But now, as a young and intelligent women she came to realise that the women of her family were always helping and giving love to everyone. Mai strived to try and be like her kind mother, or wise grandmother. "Try" being the key word. Most of the times, her attempts at charity failed. From dropping grocery bags to making poor children cry harder because their knee injury was "going to get infected and you will die if you don't get home and get off the foot path."

Now on this dull and dreary Saturday, Mai got out of bed at 11:20am, made herself and her delightful cat Harry some breakfast and sat down on the couch to watch some television. As she munched on her bowl of Corn Flakes, her mind dozed off into a trance. After minutes of the incessant noise of crunching, the trance was broken by the loud sound of the phone ringing. Putting her cereal bowl down on the side table, Mai reached to her left to grab the phone that was haphazardly thrown on another seat days ago.

"Hello this is Mai speaking." Mai answered. Standing up she made her way towards her bedroom.

"Hello darling its mother! How are you?" Her mother, Sarah, was on the other end.

"Good. I just woke up." Grabbing the day's clothes out of her cupboard, Mai got her things ready for the day.

"Oh that's lovely. I was just wondering if you would like to come to dinner with me and my friends?" Sarah replied. Mai's mother had lovely friends, albeit dull and boring, but they meant well.

Mai scratched her head, unsure of her mother's motives. "Why?" She eventually asked.

"I was just wanting to spend time with you that's all. You know, I am an ageing woman and at any time I could accidently..."

Mai cut Sarah off with a chuckle, "Ma, your 50 not 100! You aren't going to be dyeing anytime soon. Think of grandma! She has more of a chance of dying than you!" Once in the bathroom, Mai dropped her clothes on the floor and leaned against the sink. "Where were you guys planning on going?" Considering that the food was most likely going to be free, Mai was thinking about joining the party. Mai always followed by one of her most loved quotes; "If free food comes knocking at your door, you open up and let it in."

"To the nice new French restaurant that opened up a couple of months ago." Sarah responded. _Ah yes, I heard of that place. Apparently it had nice soup..._ Mai nodded her head in thought.

"Okay I'll come, what time? I'll drive myself there." _That is if TomTom decides to stop being an asshole to me and leading me in the wrong direction._

"About 6:30," Sarah said. "See you then, love you!"

Saying her goodbyes, Mai hung up the phone and sighed. Looking down to her clothes she pondered for a while. _Should I?..._ "Meh. Whatever." She left the clothes abandoned and returned to her room, setting an alarm for 5:00. What was the point of changing if she was going to change hours later? Dropping onto her bed, Mai fell into a peaceful sleep.

 **A.N: Greeting everyone, this story is my first one ever. It might sound a bit posh or robot-y at the start but once I get used to writing it'll probably loosen up to casual language. So I hope you enjoy the story. Constructive criticism is allowed but I would prefer you PM me.**

 **Edited: 5/1/17**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two - The Dinner**

Mai woke up to the sound of a blasting alarm emitting from her cell phone. She groaned before lifting her bed sheets and slowly falling out of bed and onto the floor. Mai stood and dazedly made the bed. She then zombie walked to her closet, where she rummaged to find a dress to wear for her mother's dinner. Mai decided on a knee length black lace dress with a shift.

She hopped into the shower and cleansed herself before stepping out, wrapping her wet hair into a towel and changing into the dress. When it came to Mai, she didn't really like heaps of makeup nor dressing up big and fancy. After applying mascara and filling in her eyebrows a bit, she stepped back to view her appearance.

 _Everyone fusses about appearance all the time. It's really about what's inside._ Mai was of average size with and average body, nothing too special or too bad. With light skin and dark hair, it helped take away the blemishes that a person might have on their face. But really, she didn't care for what she looked like.

Unwrapping her hair from the towel, hair fell down to halfway between her upper arms. It was dark brown and rich in colour, which she inherited that from her father. He was of Turkish descent, which made him dark and hairy. She quickly pulled the front parts of her hair to back and clipped them together.

She scuttled back into her room and snatched a pair of black flats. Grabbing her bag, she walked to her second hand car and started to drive to the restaurant. She didn't want to be late or else her mother would worry.

"Darling, how are you?!" Mai's mother exclaimed as Mai stepped through the doors of the French restaurant.

"Hey mum, I'm doing well." Replied Mai. She gave her mother a quick hug and then proceeded into the restaurant with her mother. Mai took a minute to sit down next to her mother and look around the restaurant and table. All 6 of her mother's friends were there sitting and smiling at her. Mai smiled back and then looked back around the restaurant.

It was a quaint little place with medium sized table and chairs. All the tables had vases with flowers on them and napkin that were shaped like weird little triangles. Mai ignored what her mother and mother's friends were talking about for the next five minutes until the waiter came. It wasn't that she rude or ignorant, just a little bit socially awkward. She'd rather the company of herself than being with others. The waiter came and took their orders before leaving again. After a while, Mai included herself in the convocations with the other women.

"Ok mum, I think it's time for me to leave." Mai said. For the past 2 hours they had been sitting, eating and having a good time. But as the night grew on, Mai was growing increasingly tired. She stood up from the table and reached over to give her mother a hug. "Bye darling," her mother said. Mai said goodbye to her mother's friends and walked out of the restaurant.

 _Ooo chilly, should've brought a jacket._ Mai parked a couple of blocks down from the restaurant because the parking spaces in front were already filled up with her mother and co.'s cars. After walking past one block she heard a mysterious noise coming from a dark alley up ahead. _What the?_

She silently walked a bit faster until she peaked her head around the alley wall. What she saw shocked her. A buff man held a glistening knife and threatening what looked like a 50 year woman. Slowly bending down, Mai grabbed a piece of discarded pipe that had rolled away from a nearby trash can.

Mai slowly approached the man from the behind, and made eye contact with the old woman. Mai raised her finger up to her lips to signal the woman to stay silent. The woman looked back to the man. At three feet away, Mai raised the pipe above her and strongly brought it down upon the man's fat head. He collapsed onto floor, signalling that he was unconscious. _Night-y night you ol' bastard._

"Are you okay?" Mai asked, she dropped the pipe and rushed towards the woman. "You're not hurt are you?" As you can see, Mai was going for the old charity dig again.

"No I'm not. Thank you for that, I don't know what would've happened if you didn't interfere." The woman said. She had a croaky voice and seemed to have a feeble hunch.

"Is there any place I can take you?" Inquired Mai.

"No, no. I'm fine." The woman croaked.

"Are you sure?" Mai was adamant. _You're probably more annoying her than you are helping._

"Yes." The woman then gave a watery smile and hobbled away.

Mai watched the woman turn the corner before walking back to her car and droving away.

 **AN: If there was any phrases you did not understand, keep in mind I am Australian and a bit of a bogan. If any readers out there are Turkish, do not feel offended by the "dark and hair" comment. I am partially of Turkish descent and my family is dark and hairy.**

 **Edited: 5/1/17**

 **basic/set?id=182040728**

 **Above is the picture I made with Polyvore for the dress and shoes. If you haven't noticed already, the woman is pregnant - but that doesn't mean that Mai is, the dress just suited what I had in mind. If it doesn't work, my account is tori-13-1 and the set is called "Basic."**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three - The Mirror**

When Mai returned home that night, she was absolutely exhausted. She paused at her front door. _I never knew such a small stomach could hold so much food!_ Right then, right there Mai let out the biggest belch she had ever made. "What?!" She cackled over in laughter and opened her front door to enter her apartment. _I am disgusting…_ Mai sighed then threw her bag onto the kitchen counter. It was pretty tiring for Mai to drive back home after an exhausting dinner. She walked to her room and changed from the now constricting dress into pyjamas. After that, Mai stumbled into the bathroom to remove her makeup. _Great, now comes the worst part of using makeup wipes._

Though Mai didn't get to use any makeup wipes that night. For when she stepped into the bathroom she stopped in her place. _Somethings not right..._ Mai looked to her left and instantly saw why. There was a _massive_ mirror with a golden engraved frame. _I don't remember ever putting that there before..._ She took a couple of steps towards it, until she was but a few feet away. Mai blinked. Then blinked again. _Whhhaaattt?_

Mai walked around the frame to try and see behind. Grabbing hold of the frame, Mai used all of her tiny and non-existent muscles and tried to heave it off the wall. _Squeak_. But alas, the mirror only moved a smidge to the side. Mai pushed harder and harder until finally it slid to the right. Her jaw hit the floor (not literally though, nearly had you fooled) then slowly raised back up. "Ha... What the?"

Where the back of the mirror would have been, was a bright and stunning light escaping from an anonymous source. _Is that you Jesus?_ Mai scoffed. _Highly doubt it is though._ Stepping to the side so that she was directly in front of the mirror, Mai could see but a tinge of blue light. Squinting her eyes, Mai shuffled forward a bit. _Maybe I should get my sunglasses..._ Without looking, she reached back her hand to find a cloth from the bathroom bench and was victorious in coming back with a hand towel.

Mai nonsensically swatted the hand towel at the light to see what would happen. It just went straight through! _How is that even possible?!_ She took one more step and was chest to chest with the light before reaching out her hand. _I feel like those chicks in horror films calling out, "Hello?"_ Mai's hand began to feel tingly. Like the feeling you get from doing lip rolls too long. She reached her hand and arm further in until it just about reached her shoulder. Wanting to find out what was happening, Mai decided to take another step forward and put all of her body through and into the light.

The next think she knew was the feeling of being pushed over, her head hitting something hard, and blacking out.

You know what they saw, curiosity killed the cat.

 **AN: Constructive criticism is allowed.**

 **Edited: 5/1/17**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four - The Opera House**

"Mama, is she ok?" A voice said. All Mai could see was darkness, as her eyes were closed. Voices could be heard from all different directions. Mai slowly opened her eyes, they felt so heavy. _What on earth happened?_

"I do not know, we will have to wait to see if she will wake up." A woman's voice replied. As Mai's eyes slowly started to open, she could see the curious faces of people looking down at her. She was laying down in an unknown room, and there were people either standing or kneeling beside Mai. There were four woman and five men. One of the woman had blonde hair while the other three were brunettes. The men all had dark hair.

"Look she's starting to wake up!" The same voice Mai heard first said. She groaned as her head started to ache. Mai reached a hand up to her head to hold it steady. Once a small amount of pain had subsided, she slowly crawled up to lean on her elbows.

"How are you feeling?" The woman said. She had long light brown hair that was beautifully braided. She looked to be in her 30s or 40s. The three other woman were all much younger and seemed to be wearing the same clothes. The blonde was small, along with the other brunettes. The men on the other hand seemed to be have some muscles, but their appearance wasn't very appealing.

"My head... Where am I?" Mai looked around. The large room she was in was extravagant to say the least. There was a great staircase with giant statues coated with gold.

"You are in the Opera Populaire. My name is Madame Giry." The now apparent Madame Giry said. Strangely enough, Mme. Giry was speaking in French yet Mai was able to understand what she was saying. _Weird_. Mai slowly stood up with the help of the blonde girl. "My name is Meg Giry," she said. Mai looked towards Madame Giry and Meg Giry. They both looked like each other. "My daughter." Madame Giry explained. Mai nodded as best as I could. _Bloody head…_ Mai groaned at the dull ache in her cranium.

 _Somethings off here, it feels weird._ Mai then noticed it, the clothing. The dresses that the woman wore were COMPLETELY different. They looked to be the fashion of the Victorian Era. "I think I hit my head a bit hard," Mai said. "Could you possibly tell me the year?" _Pathetic attempt at lying but it will do._ Fortunately, Madame Giry believed the lie.

Madame Giry slightly raised an eyebrow before saying, "It is 1869." They led Mai to a chair that was nearby and sat her down. The men left after realising that the heavy lifting (Mai) was done. "Do you remember anything?" A brunette girl said. She had long curly brown hair and brown eyes. Her thin body mismatched with her wild hair. "My name is Christine." She kindly said.

"My name is Mai... What happened?" Mai replied. She could hardly comprehend what was going on, it all seemed to surreal.

The woman shook their heads. "We don't really know, all we know is that we heard a woman screaming outside and then the men brought you in. We think you may have gotten yourself run over by a carriage." Meg said.

"Geez..." Mai said. She had obviously come here by that stupid mirror, but Mai didn't know of a way to get back. She rested her throbbing head against her shaking palm. Everything was hazy and the world itself started spinning. Mai started to see two of everything. "I think... I think I need to rest..." She felt herself succumb to the darkness of sleep.

 **AN: Constructive criticism accepted. I really want to open a floral shop. Or a fish shop, like pet fish shop.**

 **Edited: 5/1/17**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five - Getting a Job**

Mai woke up to the feeling of a soft and comfy surface beneath her. She was lying on a single bed that was squashed between a large amount of other single beds. As Mai began to properly wake up, she sluggishly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. There were about nine other beds around the one she was in, and they all were singles with the same blankets and pillows on each. The room itself was quite blank, except for the small decorations that covered the walls, poles and ceilings.

From where she was laying, Mai couldn't see any doors to exit the room. Groaning, she raised her hand to try and stop the tender pain coming from her head. Slowly getting herself out of the small bed, she saw some shoes on the ground next to the bed, they were black flats. Mai slipped the shoes onto her feet and stood up, her dress coming down to her ankles. A look of surprise crossed her face as she felt the dress swish about her ankles, she had not noticed before that she was wearing a dress. It was a simple black dress with buttons sewed down the centre to the bottom of the dress. _Geez... I look like a nun! What on earth is going on?_ Mai walked around the dorm before noticing the exit door in the corner.

The hallway was wide and floored with dark carpet, with lit candelabras hanging from the walls to light the way. Looking down left and right, both ends twisted into different directions. Down one way, it was silent and eerie, down the other, faint voices could be heard along with music. Mai had two options; go left down the eerie hall path and possible get lost and die, or to go right and possible find other people and not end up dying. She decided to head right for obvious reasons.

Walking further down the hall the voices gradually became clear, there was singing, laughing and yelling, and the mysterious music was coming from an orchestra. As Mai rounded the last corner, she finally saw the people. Young woman and men were dancing together, props and objects seem to be flying around everywhere, a woman was screeching ( _Oh gosh is that her voice?_ ) and the orchestra and maestro seemed to be in a hurry or stress. If it weren't for the obvious fact that something bad had happened, it would have been a comical view. Mai stepped further into the flurry and nearly got run over (again) by a backstage man running. "Move outta the way!" He yelled. Mai mumbled an apology before continuing to walk around the stage. She needed to find Madame Giry and talk to her.

Madame Giry was walking around the dancers and observing their skills. Mai quickly spotted her and walked over to her. "Madame Giry," she said, "what is going on?"

"An opera." Giry replied. She battered her cane at a nearby ballerina and tutted her dance move. Mai nodded her head.

 _Hmm… An opera, I bet they need a lot of helping hands to get an opera going._ Suddenly, a plan struck Mai. She would try to get a job here at the Opera Populaire. It seemed the only logical idea, since she didn't exactly know anything about Victorian Era Paris. _Pfft. This won't be hard. The manager will be charmed me._ "What's it called?" Mai asked.

" _Tamerlano._ It is a tragic romance story, quite spectacular." Giry raised her walking stick towards two main people at the front.

Mai nodded. "Ohh... You guys should do Prince of Egypt. It's a really extravagant musical. Anyway, I was wondering, I don't really have a home or anything, so is there any chance that I could get… a job? Or could you help me get a job?"

Madame Giry gave a sympathetic smile. "Of course. If you like, you could try to see if you get a job here in the Opera House. You would need to speak to the manager though. Here, Meg will take you to him. Meg!" _Score._ Meg stood up from her pose on the ground and walked over the Mai and Madame Giry. "Yes mama?" She asked.

"Can you please take Mai to the managers?" Meg nodded and turned to leave.

"Come on!" Meg said enthusiastically. Mai hesitantly followed Meg to the manager's office. _Okay, calm your nerves Mai. Pull up your skirt and go in head held high._ Meg knocked on the door and waited. "Are you planning on staying?" Meg asked.

"Hopefully, if I can try and convince the manager to let me have a job here." Mai replied. The door then opened and the manager saw Meg and Mai. "Hello how can I help?" He asked. The manager was a tall and greying man, he obviously had been through some stress in his time.

"My name is Mai, I was wondering if I could talk to you?" Mai politely asked. The manager nodded and smiled before letting her in.

"I'll just wait for you outside." Meg said. Meg nodded in agreement before turning into the office. The manager closed the door behind her and motioned towards a seat at the other side of a desk. "Please, sit." Mai sat down and made herself comfy and lady-like. She felt like she was in a job interview. She internally scoffed. _In a way I kind of am._

"Sir, I have _no_ home, _no_ job and _no_ memory of what happened before this morning. I was wondering if you could help me acquire a job?" Mai played the sympathy card.

The manager nodded sympathetically. "Yes I heard about what happened." He said. "I do feel sorry for you, but I do not know how I may be able to help you." He shook his head.

"Mmm." Mai thought for a while. "Maybe I could work here for a while?" Mai asked. "You don't even need to pay me! Just a place to sleep for the night."

The manager considered her offer. "Do you have any talents? Singing, instrumental or anything?"

"Yes I can sing a bit - but not performance standard. I can cook, I suppose... Perhaps I could work behind the stage? With the props?" Mai was very hopeful at working behind the stage, where the audience couldn't see her and yet she can still go to listen to the music and watch the operas.

The manager nodded. "That seems pretty good." He said. "You can work there. We will add another bed to the dorm of the dancers for you. I must warn you though, some of the men that work behind stage are very... playful, in a way. You might want to watch out."

Mai nodded. "I'm sure I can protect myself. Thank you for this job, you don't know how much it means. May I leave now?" The manager nodded and Mai opened the door and left. Meg was waiting for her outside.

"Are you going to stay?" Meg asked. Mai nodded and they both smiled. "Come on, let's go back to Mama and tell her. Then you can go talk to the Joseph Buquet about backstage." They walked back to the stage to tell Madame Giry the good news.

 **AN: Constructive criticism allowed. Italicised font on its own is Mai's thoughts.**

 **Edited: 5/1/17**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six - Learning**

Mai heaved the rope with all of her strength downwards. As she did, the prop started to raise into the air. Bouquet was standing opposite her doing the same thing and lifting the other side of the prop. For the past few weeks, Mai had been learning all the ways around the backstage area and above the stage. Her muscles had been constantly sore for the nights after pulling and lifting heavy props. Meg sighed. _Who would've known that after heaving strong props you can actually get some nice muscles?_

Obviously, with working above everyone else and the possibility of people looking up under your skirt; Mai needed the right clothes. She was given one of the ballerina's short dresses and a men's pair of breaches that Mai tied around the waist with string. Mai obviously couldn't wear ballerina shoes, so she decided to wear some sturdy enclosed flats. It wasn't the most fashionable outfit but it was good for working in.

Bouquet and other stage hands showed Mai the ropes of the working backstage (haha pun) and she was soon set off on small tasks. It was first mainly taking props and boxes from one place to another and making sure the curtains were working able to open. At first, Bouquet was trying to be naughty, if you catch the meaning, but he was soon silenced one he was told by Mai that she was not a woman that he could 'have some fun' with. He was also given the lovely threat; "If you come near me or try anything, I swear I will use one of your beer bottles to hit you over the head."

During her time at the Opera Populaire, Mai was told gossip and stories of the infamous 'Opera Ghost.' Obviously like a normal person, Mai told them to stop being stupid and realize that there was no such thing. Actually... That's not what she did. Mai pretended to be all brave and realistic, but on the inside she was slightly frightened. Mai never liked the idea of ghosts or anything paranormal, after hearing anything of stuff like that she was never able sleep for days.

So what if this 'Opera Ghost' was real? The stories of him seemed real. How people would catch a glimpse of him, or see shadows of him in the corners. Mai would shiver whenever she thought she saw a shadow hiding in the corner. Bouquet had told other stage men that he had seen the opera ghost, that he had yellow skin, and no nose. Mai could never imagine seeing the ghost. Nor ever meeting him.

 **AN: Constructive criticism is allowed. Please review!**

 **Edited: 5/1/17**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven - The Performance Night**

 **Months Later**

It was the night that the opera was to be performed, and everyone was nervous. Particularly Mai. Even though she wasn't going to be onstage, she still had to be up above the stage and work the ropes. She wore clothes and shoes that were comfortable to move around in, seeing as she would be running from different areas. Mai also borrowed a pair of gloves from the costume area so her hands wouldn't get rope burn.

Carlotta was obviously the lead to the opera and her screeching voice was starting to become unbearable to listen to, Mai was sick of it by the sixth rehearsal. Having been present to all rehearsals, Mai could recite all the words to the songs, she could remember the times when she would gaze down from above and listen to the choir and leads (not Carlotta though) heavenly sing the arias. Although the memories were not always perfect. During the rehearsals, strange things would occur from time to time, props would be stolen, objects would be dropped down from above, and strange things would randomly happen. Ballet girls and some of the props-men would gossip and say it was the Phantom, and that he did things like that when he wasn't happy. Even the manger believed it was the Phantom, and Mai was starting to believe it. All she needing now to believe, was to see him in action. _I pray that never happens as long as I shall live._

Mai used up all her strength to pull down the rope and lift the curtain aside. The main singers came forward and Act 1 began, meanwhile Mai rushed along the bridge to the other side, ready to do her job.

 **Later...**

Mai pulled on the rope and the red curtain closed. She sighed and stretched her back. _Thank goodness that it's over._ After checking that she had finished everything, she walked towards the Chapel. Her whole family (from the future) was Christian, and she always prayed when she was in trouble, it calmed her to know that someone was listening. Mai grabbed a candle and walked down the hall to the Chapel. She entered the Chapel and sat down on the ground in front of the portraits, the faces of the dead staring back. It would have crept out Mai, if not for the fact that her family were figuratively dead, because they weren't alive yet. The walls had elaborate paintings of angels and a big glass window to the left. Mai sat there thinking and contemplating about this new world that she was thrown into. Fitting in was hard for her, coming from a completely different society and all.

A gust of wind blew through the room and the candle flickered. Mai shivered and look around _. Okay... That was creepy..._ Grabbing her candle, she started to light the other candles close by to the portraits. The door to the Chapel then creaked open. "Oh!" Christine jumped when she saw Mai sitting there. "What are you doing here?" Christine asked.

Mai slightly raised her eyebrow. "Praying." She said. Christine nodded her head while standing there awkwardly. Mai stood up. "I think I'll go now." She knew that Christine regularly came down to the Chapel to light a candle to remember her father, so she left to give her some time alone.

Christine smiled and walked down to the portraits while Mai walked out of the door. She slowly walked away before hearing a voice. _"The performance tonight was very good."_ A voice was coming from the Chapel, although, it was a male's voice. Mai tip-toed back over to the Chapel door, and rested her ear against it. "Thank you, Angel." Christine said. Mai's face was that of surprise and shock. Who was talking to Christine? Who was this 'Angel'? _Something fishy is going on here..._

Mai slowly tip-toed away from the Chapel until she was far enough to walk normally without them knowing nor hearing. Once Mai got back to the dorms, she sat on her bed pondering. _Who could Christine be talking to? In the Chapel when there was no one else there? God? No don't be stupid..._ Mai stroked her chin in an Obi-Wan like fashion. _Hold on…_ She jumped up from the bed in surprise. _Of course! All these rumours of a Phantom lurking in the Opera House, their true! And Christine must be in contact with him._ Mai was now scared for Christine, the Phantom was rumoured to be a murderer. _But why had she called him 'Angel'?_ Mai decided that she was going to ask Christine about it tomorrow.

Mai got changed into a white sleeping dress behind some screens and then slithered into bed. The ballet girls that she shared the dorm with were still running around, talking about how their dancing had been and getting out of their costumes. Mai was just thankful that her bed was towards the back, were the noise wasn't so loud.

 **AN: Tell me what you think! Don't be shy. Constructive criticism is welcomed.**

 **Edited: 5/1/17**

 **untitled_68/set?id=186156188**

 **Polyvore link to outfit. If it doesn't work, check out my tori-13-1 account and its called "Untitled #68**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: A New Opera**

The workers of the Opera Populaire were allowed a small break once the opera 'Tamerlano' was over. And by small break they really mean only a couple of days. Then it was back to work again, as the Manager had announced that the new opera that the Opera would be performing is 'Hannibal.' As always, Carlotta was cast as the lead along with her husband, and other singers and performers were put into groups. Mai, of course, didn't need to worry about which group she would be in as she was above the stage working the props and all other backstage jobs. The people that worked on costumes and props began work immediately and the performers started working on their own things.

But there was something far more important. The night when Mai had heard Christine talking in the Chapel with 'Angel.' Or as she believed, the Opera Ghost. Unfortunately, Mai wasn't able to talk to Christine the next day about what had happened and what she overheard, due to no time. Today though, Mai was going talk to her, and she saw her target standing around and talking to Meg. Walking over, Mai slipped into their conversation. After a while, Meg had to leave so she could perform a chore for her mother. _Ah ha! Perfect timing!_ It was time for Mai to strike! She quietly asked Christine to talk to her around the corner, where no one could hear them.

"Why did you want to talk in private?" Christine asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yes." Mai whispered. "I overhead you that night. The night when you came to the Chapel." Christine's face looked confused. "The night after the first performance of Tamerlano." She continued. "I was walking away when I heard you talking to someone, someone you called 'Angel.' Who were you talking to?" Mai was worried for her of course, because in the small amount of time being at the Opera Populaire, Mai and Christine had become friends.

Christine then realized what Mai was talking about, she could tell by her face. "Mai," she said. "Who you heard was the angel. The Angel of Music."

Mai was shocked, and her face surely showed it. "What?" She exclaimed. "An angel? Talking to you? Are you serious?" Mai scoffed in disbelief.

Christine just smiled and explained. "Mai, when I was young, my father was beginning to dying. On his deathbed, he told me that when he was in Heaven, he would send me an angel. The Angel of Music. And he did, that night you heard him. He's been tutoring me."

Mai was suspicious. I mean who wouldn't be? _I highly doubt that it is an angel..._ She thought Christine naïve at that moment, for not realising that this mysterious voice could actually the Opera Ghost and NOT an angel. "But how do you know for sure that it is an angel?" Mai asked, annoyed.

Christine blinked and looked down then up again. "In my sleep, he sings to me and talks to me. Who else can do that?" Mai was confused. She didn't know what to believe. A thought popped up in her head. "He has been tutoring you?" She asked.

"Yes." Christine said, "He has been teaching me to sing."

"Oh." Mai didn't know that Christine could sing. She knew that her father was a very good violinist and that maybe she had inherited musical talent from him, but not that she was a singer. "How good are you?" Mai asked. _Don't start to get jealous._

"I wouldn't want to judge myself." Christine said.

"Well if you're good enough, then maybe you should audition for the next opera. We could use a Prima Donna that doesn't sound like a dying chicken." Both girls laughed. "Well, I guess it's time to go back then." Mai walked away with Christine back to the stage.

Mai walked around the catwalk and areas above the stage just wondering around and thinking. Thoughts about the new opera 'Hannibal' and about the Opera Ghost graced her mind. Suddenly there was a loud clang, and Mai sharply looked to her left. With furrowed brows, she slowly started walking towards the source of the sound. A swish of black and white flashed across Mai's vision as she spied the person who made the clang. "Hey you!" She yelled. "You're not supposed to be up here!" The black cloaked person ran away and through the opera house. "HEY!" Mai pursued the figure. _Pity I never got into running._

She chased the person down the flight of stairs and into the halls of the opera. Despite her lack of physical fitness, Mai was using pure adrenaline to gain on the mysterious man. She was just about to jump and tackle them down (footy style) when they turned left and disappeared. Confused, Mai turned back around and followed the way they went only to find a dead end. "What the?" She puffed out. Annoyed and angry, Mai smacked her hands all along the walls to release her anger. _Where the_ hell _did he go?!_

There was hardly any light in the hallway so Mai struggle to properly see her surroundings. _How strange..._ The person (or should I say man, Mai could tell by the way he ran and the figure) just disappeared into thin air. Mai shivered as a cool breeze ran through the area. _This hallway is starting to get creepy now_. She slowly backed away and went to the ballet girls dormitories, and laid in bed. She drifted into a short nap with one last thought jammed into her mind.

 _I do believe I have just seen the Opera Ghost..._

 **AN: Review please, constructive criticism is welcome.**

 **Edited:**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: Hannibal**

The rehearsal for Hannibal was underway. Dancers, singers, actors and stagehands were running around preparing for the rehearsal. Carlotta sung her solo and the singers came forward, meanwhile above them Mai was walking along the catwalk and preparing the ropes.

"Rehearsals as you can see are underway for our new production of Hannibal." The manger had walked in with two strangers. Mai stopped what she was doing and peered down onto the situation. The maestro was obviously very angry with the interruption and chastised the manger. _Aw he's such a sweet ol' man._

"M. Reyer, Mme. Giry, ladies and gentlemen please. If I could have your attention, thank you." The manager said. "As you know, for some weeks there has been rumours of my imminent retirement. I can know tell you that these were all true. And it is my pleasure to introduce you to the two gentlemen who now own the Opera Populaire, M. Richard Firmin and M. Gilles Andre."

 _Well, this is news to me._ Mai made her way down to the stage and clapped along with everyone else. "I'm sure you've read of their recent fortune in the junk business…"

"Scrap metal, actually." M. Gilles Andre said. Mai scoffed. _Junk business? I wonder how that gave them enough money to own the opera._

"And we're deeply honoured to introduce our new Patron," said Firmin.

"The Vicomte de Chagny" finished Andre. Everybody clapped as a young man with long hair walked forwards. _My goodness, what a wonderful… flop of hair he has._ Mai had to retain a laughter at the Patron's fashionable haircut.

"My parents and I are honoured to support all the arts, especially the world-renowned Opera Populaire." He said. _I wonder how he got his hair_ that _long… It must be annoying just having hanging around your shoulders all the time._ Mai let out a small laugh at her train of thoughts. She imagined him sitting and brushing his hair to a hundred strokes every night. The (now old) manager introduced Carlotta and Piangi to the Patron and new managers, while Mai walked away to the backstage. The Patron said farewell and the rehearsal continued on. The ballet girls started their dance, then the chorus singers started the song with Carlotta joining in. Although Carlotta was more yelling her part than singing. Mai sighed. A _aaannd shes angry again, big surprise._

Mai helped push away the big elephant that had come out during the aria, meanwhile Carlotta was complaining to the new managers. Carlotta then demanded for her 'doggy' and stormed away. Mai rolled her eyes. "Let's just hope she's goes for good." She mumbled, walking over towards Christine and Meg. Andre and Firmin then grovelled at Carlotta to stay, and managed to convince her to sing the aria 'Think of Me' that was in Act Three. Mai stuck her fingers in her ears as Carlotta began to sing.

 _"Think of me, think of me, fondly,_

 _When we've said goodbye._

 _Remember me once in a while,_

 _Please promise me you'll try._

 _When you find that once again,_

 _You long to take your heart..."_

Mai harshly looked up when she heard a loud creaking noise. She gasped as she saw the tapestry fall down right on top of Carlotta. Mai ran up the stairs to the catwalk to help pull up the fallen tapestry. _Geez I hope I don't get blamed for this._

Carlotta stood up again then stormed out of the Opera Populaire. Again… Mai secured the rope of the tapestry and then looked down. Mme. Giry looked to be handing a piece of paper with an elegant seal to M. Andre. "His salary?" Andre exclaimed.

Mme. Giry tossed her hair over her shoulder, "M. Lefevre used to give him twenty thousand francs a month."

"Twenty thousand francs!" Firmin snatched the paper away from Andre and examined it himself.

"Perhaps you can afford more, with the Vicomte de Chagny as your patron." Mme. Giry stepped back. Mai raised a brow. _Shots fired. What I could do with twenty thousand francs! Buy a house (maybe), buy some furniture and live out my days here in Paris. All. Alone._ Mai felt a wave of sadness come upon her. _Shut up brain, no more sad thoughts today._

Mai looked back down to see Madame Giry pushing Christine forward towards the front of the stage. _What is she doing?_ She got her answer when Christine started to sing 'Think of Me.' And by goodness, she was good! Mai smiled as Christine stepped forward, she knew that Christine might make it one day. _I could never pull off an aria like that._ Christine finished the verse and the managers and everyone else clapped. Christine was then appointed the new main role of Hannibal and replaced Carlotta as the Prima Donna.

 **On the performance night…**

Mai joined Meg and Madame Giry as they watched Christine sing. Christine wore a big white dress with her hair done up with stars in it. The audience clapped the moment she finished the song and threw flowers onto the stage. Soon after, the opera was finished and everyone dispersed to go mingle. Mai on the other hand, had the help the other stage men pack up. She ran around putting away small props and then helping the others put away the heavier props.

After everything was done Mai finally left to change her clothes, considering that what she was wearing was riddled with sweat and dust. She washed her body and face with an old wash cloth and then changed into a light ballerina dress. Mai then put on her black flats from when she first arrived and left the room. Mai was determined to go see Christine and congratulate her on her success.

Once Mai arrived at the Prima Donna room, she knocked and opened the door. Although, it didn't tried again but with two hands. It still didn't open. _It must be locked then._ "Christine!" No answer. Mai knocked on the door louder. Still no answer. She whipped around as she felt a hand suddenly grab her shoulder. "Madame Giry?"

"Come." She took Mai's arm and led her away.

"Where is Christine?" Mai asked.

"She will be back soon." Mai was led back to the dormitories and sat down onto the bed. _Where is Christine?_

Mai jumped up as Meg came in. "Meg! Do you know where Christine is?" She inquired. _Perhaps Meg knows_.

"No, I haven't seen her." Meg sat down on the bed with Mai. It seems that Christine has just disappeared. _Unless…_ Mai shook the thought away. _It couldn't have anything to do with the Ghost. That would just be too weird._

"I went to the Prima Donna room to congratulate her on the performance but when I got there the door was locked! Then your mother took me away. She just disappeared…" Mai explained to her friend.

Meg scrunched her eyebrows together. "I'll go get the keys from my mother's room, then we can open the door and see what happened." That was good plan, we stood up and slipped out of the dormitories. _Sneaky…_

"Shhh!" Meg whispered to Mai. She made "calm down" gesture with her arms before mouthing the words "all right" to Meg. The two girls were sneaking around the corner and about to go into Madame Giry's room. All in all there was a lot of sneaking happening, and Mai had to refrain herself from the humming Mission Impossible theme. They looked around to see if anyone was nearby before making a mad dash towards the door and quickly entering.

"She keeps her keys over there." Meg pointed to a duchess table. Mai tip-toed over to it and grabbed the keys. Then, the friends made a hasty escape to the Prima Donna room.

"Here. You open it, I don't know which key does into the door." Mai handed the keys to Meg and watched as she slowly opened the door. Entering the dark room last, Mai partially closed the door behind them. "Christine?" Meg whispered. The room was nearly pitch black if it weren't for the light of one candle. Mai could feel a cold draft coming from somewhere. Then, she saw why. The mirror. Mai stared at it. It was exactly like the one she found in her bathroom. Slowly shuffling forward, Mai noticed there was a light coming from the left of it. And a rose dropped carelessly at the floor. _Oh gosh this feels like a murder scene from Supernatural or something. Where the person died in a weird way. Maybe Christine got shish-kebabed by a rose thorn or something and got infection._ Mai gulped uncomfortably.

Meg joined Mai beside her and grabbed the mirror and pushed it to the side, where it opened. Mai shared a glance with Meg before entering first. _Best be me first, after all I've done this before._ A whole passageway was secretly hidden behind the mirror. Meg then came in and gasped. Mai turned around and saw why. It was a double sided mirror, the type that on one side one person could see through but on the other you couldn't.

"Well that's not creepy at all…" This was obviously the Opera Ghost's work. _Pervert alert, pervert alert…_ The Opera Ghost had been spying on Christine, and then took her with him down through the passageway. Speaking of the passageway, it had cobwebs everywhere and the occasional torch hanging from the wall. "Wow." Meg whispered.

The two girls walked down the passage, trying to avoid touching the cobwebs. "AHH!" Meg screamed. Mai looked down, there were two rats scuttling at their feet. She jumped immediately away. "Disease infested little bastards…" She mumbled, before hurrying along. _There is no way in hell I am going to get bitten and given a disease. Like the plague or something._ Mai shuddered. The two girls calmed down a minute later. Until a hand suddenly clamped down onto their shoulders.

 _Madame Giry_. Mai sighed. "Not again…"

 **AN: Please review, constructive criticism is welcomed! This chapter is dedicated to StUpeDKiD for being the first to review.**

 **Edited: 5/1/17**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: The Trap Door**

"Do you think that Christine has gone down through the mirror?" Meg asked.

"Yes." _Of course Christine has gone through the mirror_. "But I don't think she went alone…"

Meg's eye widened. "The Opera Ghost! He must have had something to do with this!" Mai nodded and opened the door to the dorms. Only to find Bouqet talking with the other ballerinas. She rolled her eyes and walked to her bed, avoiding Bouqet.

"Like yellow parchment is his skin. A great black hole serves as the nose that never grew." Bouqet was trying to scare the ballerinas about the Phantom, and it was working. "You must always be on your guard, or he will catch you… with his magical lasso!" He used his lasso and tossed it around a passing ballerina. Pulling her close he snapped his teeth and made weird sounds. The ballerina yelped and tried to get out of his grasp. To her luck, Mme. Giry came at the moment and saved her.

"Those who speak of what they know…" She addressed everyone in the room. "Find too late that prudent silence is wise. Joseph Bouqet hold your tongue, keep your hands at the level of your eye!" Mme. Giry used the lasso against Bouget and wound it around his neck and pulled, while Bouqet quickly raised his hand to stop the lasso.

Bouqet soon then left and all the ballerinas settled in for the night. Mai changed into her nightdress and curled under the bed covers. _I wonder what Christine is doing right now…_

Meg shook Mai awake by her shoulders. "Wake up Mai!" She exclaimed, "Christine is back!" Mai simply responded by shoving the hand away. "Idontwannagetup…" She mumbled incoherently. Meg huffed and grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the bed. Mai woke up instantly as her face slammed into the cold floor. "Fine, just let me – Wait?! Did you just say that Christine was back?!" Meg nodded. "Oh my gosh, come on then!" Mai grabbed her coat on the way out of the dorms.

She rushed down the halls and skidded to a halt outside of the Primma Donna room. "Christine? You in there?" Mai knocked on the door and waited patiently. No answer came. _Well this feels like deja vu…_

"She is asleep." A voice said. Mai turned around the see Mme. Giry walking towards her with Meg in tow.

"Where did she go?" Mai asked. She had a hunch that Christine was with the Opera Ghost, but where did that path in the mirror lead?

"That is none of your concern." Mme. Giry said. "All that matters is that she is safe and back." Mai huffed and walked away. If no one was going to tell her what happened then she was going to find out herself. She ran up to the stage and took the stairs up towards where she was last chasing the ghost. Puffing by the time she go to the wall, she rested against it for a breath. As she slowed her breathing, her eyes spotted a small bump on the floor, beneath the mat. She lowered herself to the ground and removed the mat. Mai gasped! It was a trapdoor! _So that's how the ghost got away. Sneaky._

She pulled the metal ring attached to the wood and heaved the door open. Below there was a dark abyss that seemed to stretch on forever. Mai chewed the inside of her cheek contemplating. _Go into there now and possibly get hurt because it's dark. Or come back later with a lamp and explore then._ Option number two seemed the best one to choose. Mai closed the trap door and covered it with the mat before walking back to the dorms and getting ready for the day.

 _Oh great. Carlotta's back._ Mai was unhappy for that reason, the squawking chicken had returned to the Opera Populaire complaining about Raoul sending her a note about not performing that night. The managers although insisted that she perform in Il Muto, the opera that was soon on show, _and_ as the lead. Mai had overhead this information form some ballet girls gossiping to each other in the dorms while she was getting ready.

Mai changed into a dark blue dress that was left over from a previous opera. The blouse part was a rich royal blue with a light sky blue skirt made of silk. There was black lace adorning the hem of the dress. The dress hugged Mai's curves and slightly puffed out at the bottom. In Opera terms, the dress was fairly plain. She twirled around in a circle and watched as the dress swished about her legs. _I feel so elegant!_ Mai grabbed an oil lamp and went to find the trap door.

When Mai reached the trap door and opened it, she was confronted with a problem: she was wearing a dress. _Ugh! How could I be so stupid!_ She huffed and put the oil lamp on the wooden boards before slowly lowering herself down into the trap door. _Please don't let there be anything to bite my legs off!_ Her arms shook and her upper body muscles were burning from holding her up. Soon, her feet skimmed the bottom of the abyss and she dropped down to the floor. With a heave of a breath she looked up towards the top of the trapdoor – it was only a couple of inches above her.

Now that she knew where the ground was, she jumped up again and grabbed the oil lamp before going back to the bottom. Mai lifted up the oil lamp in front of her to see around. There was a tunnel leading into more darkness. She hoisted up the hem of her dress and walked forward. Mai walked slowly so she wouldn't run into anything ahead of her that would suddenly pop out. Something fury scuttled past her boot clad feet and Mai screeched. She pointed the lamp towards her feet – only to find a group of rats surrounding her!

"AHHHHHHH! OH MY GOSH GET AWAY GET AWAY!" Mai screamed, for she was deathly afraid of rats. For one, they carried disease. And secondly, they had teeth. That used to chew through peoples stomach in medieval times as punishment. As Mai jumped around trying to shoo away the rats, the oil lamp jiggled around and fell to the floor. The glass shattered all over the ground and Mai froze. _Oh crap… I'm screwed._ She looked around her into the abyss and felt the walls. _Which way do I go now?_

"Hello!" Mai yelled. "Can anyone hear me?! HELP!" Silence. Then, a scuffle of feet – but not Mai's. She turned slowly to source of sound…

 _WHACK!_

Mai's head flung back and collided into the wall. Her last thought wasn't very happy.

 _Rats are going to chew me to death…_

 **AN: Shout out to E-man-dy-S for your review! As for your question; the reason that Mai hasn't heard of the Phantom of the Opera is because she just… doesn't. I've met many people who haven't heard of it. Anyway, I thought that the story would be more interesting if she didn't know what was going to happen or know _everything_ about Erik. **

**Here's the link for the blue dress:**

blue_dress/set?id=192539806

 **Edited: 5/1/14**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: The First Encounter**

 _SPLOSH!_

Mai spluttered as the cold water drenched her hair and face. Sitting up, she tried to raise her hand to her face to wipe off some water. Only to find that her hands and feet were bound with rope. _Huh?_ She fussed her hands around trying to escape, and huffed when realising that the rope wouldn't budge. Mai groaned and she stood up and looked around where she was. It seemed that she was still where she was when she got lost, the only thing that had changed what that she was bound.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mai could see a lantern hanging from a gloved hand. _I wonder if I could steal that gloves lantern…_ She shuffled around and was met face to face with a porcelain white mask looming above her. Shrieking, she tried to walk back. But alas, because of her bound feet, she clumsily stumbled and collided bottom first with the cold, concreate floor. Heaving heavily, Mai fearfully watched as the lantern was raised and lighted up the rest of the mask and its wearer. _It's a man… a very attractive man…_ Mai thought. She didn't feel so scared anymore now that she knew that it was just a man, and not some ungodly creature.

Mai calmed and quickly assessed the man. The porcelain mask he wore covered half of his fervent face, while the other was left bare. With only his piercing green eyes and dark left eyebrow radiating in the light of the lantern. He was tall, close to six feet or in the high fives, with broad shoulders donning a dark cape. "W-w-who are you?" Mai stuttered, still sitting on the floor. The man stepped forward and crouched down in front of Mai. "I think you already know who I am." He quietly said.

Mai gulped. "The Opera Ghost." She raised her eyebrow at what she was planning to say next. "Or as Christine would call you, Angel. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to be released from these ropes." Mai held up her hands towards the man expectantly. The Opera Ghost completely ignored her bound hands and instead put the lantern on the floor next to himself and reached inside his cloak and behind his back. Mai watched as he pulled a lasso and showed it to her. "Do you know what this is?" He asked. Mai nodded. _Ok, maybe I should start to get scared now._

"Then perhaps you know my reputation?" The Opera Ghost inquired.

"Yes." Mai looked into his eyes, they were glowing with anger.

The Opera Ghost then quickly wound the lasso around Mai's neck and tightened the rope. Choking, Mai clawed at the rope hoping to loosen its hold around her. "This is a warning. Don't try to interfere between myself and Christine, or a fate so horrible will befall you." The Phantom tightened the rope further around her neck, Mai gasping at the lack of oxygen. "Understand?" He threatened.

Mai nodded as best as she could. "Yes." She croaked out. The Phantom then loosened the lasso and took it away from her neck. He then picked up his lantern and turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Mai called out and stood up. "You have to release me!"

The Phantom stopped walking and turned around to face her. "And why should I do that?" He asked.

Mai blinked with shock. "Because it would be un-gentlemanlike to just leave me here. In the dark. Alone. With _rats_." She shook with disgust at the thought of rats.

The Phantom sighed before taking a knife and cutting the rope around her hands. Mai coughed in her throat and pointed as he was just about to put the blade away. He stopped and looked at where she was pointing. " _And_ my feet." She raised her dress a little bit to make it easier for him to cut the rope. _I should've shaved… Oh well. I bet a lot of woman here don't shave._ After cutting the rope, the Phantom turned to _finally_ leave. "You don't talk much, do you?" Mai enquired.

Sighing, the Phantom replied. "Not when silly young woman constantly ask questions." His voiced was laced with anger.

Mai smirked. _Well aren't you a sassy little thing…_ "That's a little hypercritical considering I'm not the one parading around an opera and demanding things from managers like a diva." She rubbed her wrists where the rope had been rubbing. The Phantom pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, ready to retort. "Excuse-"

Mai cut him off. "Now as much as I've _loved_ this talk, I really must be getting back. We don't want anyone else thinking that you've kidnapped _another_ woman. So, could you _please_ show me the way out. I don't want to be alone down here… with the rats…"

The Phantom was astounded, this woman was a lot bolder than other women. She was _different_ , something was odd about her, but he couldn't quite figure out just what yet. "Follow me." He stalked off behind her towards where the trapdoor was.

"So… Do you have a name?" Mai asked, as she held up the skirt of the dress to avoid it getting dirty. Mai wanted to know more about the infamous Opera Ghost, she knew that he wouldn't really answer her questions though. She also wanted to partially annoy him. Just a little bit.

"That none of _your_ business." The Phantom growled, he continued to stalk forward ahead of her.

 _Wow, ok then…._ Mai subtly rolled her eyes at him before replying. "Well at least you're not angry about it…" Either the Phantom was ignoring her, or he didn't hear.

"Here." He pointed above them to a latch that was attached to the ceiling. "This is the trapdoor." And with a flick of his cape, he disappeared.

Mai blinked twice before her eyes adjusted to the dark. Small fragment of light were peeking through the outline of the trapdoor, showing Mai where it was. She stared up at the trapdoor, which was around two meters off this ground.

 _How am I going to get up there?_

 **AN: Review please, constructive criticism is welcome, along with PM's and questions. I dedicate this chapter to Chelsie412, who is my beta reader and is an awesome person.**

 **Edited: 5/1/17**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Il Muto**

The rehearsals of Il Muto went without any trouble from the Ghost. Soon enough, time had passed quickly and the performance night was upon them. Mai had not seen or heard from the mysterious Ghost since that night. Nor has she talked to Christine. She thought it best to heed the Ghost's words and stay away. For now...

 _"They say that this youth has set the Lady's heart aflame."_

The singer's voice reached Mai's ears as she worked above the stage. She truly had the best seat in the house. Leaning against a wooden beam, she gazed down upon the play. Three singers and Meg were singing and acting. Their pasty faces and big hair made them almost unmissable on the stage.

Mai stood straight and quietly walked to stand above the preparation area to the left of the stage. On this side was where Carlotta had her little "minions" (as Mai calls them) and a table full of unnecessary items. Mai stood next to Bouquet and waited.

She looked down where Bouquet was looking and saw a dark gloved hand creep out onto the table. The hand then took Carlotta's throat spray and swapped it for another. Mai smirked. _He thinks he is so invisible..._

Bouquet on the other hand, didn't seem so amused. He stopped looking down and started to walk. "Where are you going?!" Mai whisper yelled. "We have to stay here!"

"I'm going after the Ghost!" He said. His faced contorted to shock as he looked behind Mai. "There! He was right there!" He ran down to the right of Mai. She rolled her eyes and huffed before watching the opera again.

 _"Serafino, away with this pretence,_

 _You cannot speak, but kiss me in my husband's absence."_

Carlotta and Christine pretended to kiss behind the fan. Meanwhile, the Opera Ghost was causing mischief. He opened the door to the balcony near the chandelier. "DID I NOT INSTRUCT, THAT BOX FIVE WAS TO BE KEPT EMPTY?"

Mai and everyone else turned to look up at the chandelier balcony. _Seriously, he is such a drama queen._ Mai sighed and looked towards Box Five. Raoul didn't seem to care that he was in the Ghost's box. "He's here, the Phantom of the Opera." Meg looked up in fear.

"It's him..." Christine said.

"Your part is silent, little toad." Carlotta pointed her fan at Christine. One of her minions then grabbed her throat spray and walked to Carlotta.

"No no no no no!" Mai whispered. She rushed down from the beams, wanting to stop Carlotta from spraying her throat. Mai reached the bottom just as Carlotta sprayed it. _Too late..._

Mai looked up from the side to the Phantom. His hands were together as he walked back into the door. She clenched her jaw. "Dammit!" She cursed. Now Carlotta has probably been poisoned. Mai watched in anticipation to see if Carlotta would drop dead any minute.

 _"Serafino, away with this pretence,_

 _You cannot speak, but kiss me in my h-UGH!"_

Mai's jaw dropped down. She had to cover her mouth with her hands to stop from laughing out loud. This is so much better than poison! Everyone gasped, then the audience laughed. Bouquet ran up to the chandelier to pursue the Phantom. Mai on the other hand, ran back up above the stage to man the ropes. Carlotta continued to sing but only ended up croaking. Her minions motioned and waved at her to come off the stage.

"Bring the curtain in!" The managers were stressing and everyone was in panic. The managers announced that the ballet would go on instead. Mai ran to different ropes and area above the stage to pull down the scenes. Bouquet wasn't helping though, he was too busy playing hide and seek with the Phantom. Once the background curtain was down, Mai rested against a wooden pole. Shadows flickered across her vision and she looked all around her.

She looked back in front of her and saw Bouquet running across the catwalk. _What is he doing?!_ Mai's eye widened and she gasped as she saw the Phantom chasing after him. Bouquet fumbled up a rope trying to escape. Mai ran towards where the catwalks where and stood at the end of the Phantoms one. Bouquet was across from him on another catwalk.

Mai ran down the catwalk to stop the Phantom. Although he grabbed a rope next to him and climbed up out of sight. Mai stomped her foot and let out a yell of anger. Everything happened so quickly. Bouquet was running on another catwalk, but ending up cornered by the Phantom. Bouquet lost his footing and tripped. The Phantom stalked after with determined anger in his gaze.

Mai yelled out. "STOP!" She huffed and ran to other catwalk. Puffing by the time she got there, she nearly collapsed she was so tired. Stumbling on the catwalk, she could see through her blurry vision the porcelain white mask above Bouquet. "NO! Please stop!" Mai grabbed onto the catwalk roped rail and heaved herself up. She was too late. Bouquet was dead.

His body hung limply form the catwalk, and wiggled in the air. Everyone screamed, and an uproar of terror erupted from the audience. The Phantom stood powerfully above Bouquet's body. With a swish of his cape he ran off.

 **AN: I feel that I should inform everyone that while in Normal POV, the italicized words that randomly pop up are Mai's thoughts. Also "Mai" is pronounced like the word "my".**

 **Updated: 5/1/17**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: The Rooftops**

Time seemed to stop. "Ohhhh sh-" Here Mai released some rather unladylike words. Well who wouldn't? Bouquet was dead, hanging from the rafters like an old doll. Ragged breaths escaped Mai's lips. _Could I have prevented this?_ She thought. There was nothing more scarring and daunting to see a colleague – no, a _friend_ dead. Despite his "woman issues," Bouquet wasn't all that bad. Down below, on the stage everyone was screaming and some other stage hands were bringing down Bouquet's body. The crowd screamed and were running out of the opera house.

Raoul had run onto the stage and then gone backstage. Mai followed him with her eyes. _Where is he going?_ Raoul was running franticly, and appeared to be searching for something. _Christine no doubt_. Mai exited the rafters and followed him. Raoul eventually found Christine, and she grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs. _They're going to the roof!_ Mai thought. _Pfft, that's the slow way._ She turned around and ran into the hallway. There at the end of the hall, was an eroding wooden door.

Grasping the doorknob, she jiggled it a couple of times before opening. It was an old door, therefore it needed a little help to properly open. The area behind the door was completely dark, but Mai didn't care. She walked forward with her hand outstretched, waiting for it to meet the cool hardness of the ladder. Once she found it, Mai scrambled up the ladder and opened the top door above her. _Wait, why am I even following them?_ She thought. _Whatever. Just do it._

The cold wind licked her face as she stepped out. _Gosh it's freezing!_ Cursing the weather, she sidled along the statue edges till she was out in the open. _Is that… singing?_ Mai squinted her eyes and leaned her ear against the main entrance, where Christine and Raoul would be coming. _This place is weird. People are just randomly singing to each other, and no one bats and eye._ Mai jumped when she realised they were coming upon the door. She turned around and searched the rooftop for a hiding spot. Spotting a large statue at the back, Mai rushed and hid behind it.

She huffed away the strands of hair in front of her face. At that moment, Christine and Raoul came rushing onto the rooftop singing. Mai watched with interest. The song ended with Raoul and Christine passionately kissing. Mai blanched. _And now I'm uncomfortable._ Raoul and Christine were _still_ kissing… _I'm tempted to go out and stop them. Ew._ Eventually, they did stop, then held hands and skipped off into the sunset. Just kidding. Although it would have been easier if they did just run away. Instead, they sung again and entered the opera house.

 _I shouldn't have followed them. That was gross…_ Mai found any form of affection gross. You see, she has _never_ had a boyfriend, and never been kissed. Suddenly, a sigh escaped from the right of Mai. Her head snapped to the source of the noise. There, standing against another statue, was the Phantom. _Has he seriously been here the whole time?_ It seemed he had not seen Mai yet. The Phantom slowly left the statue and knelt down to pick up the rose Christine dropped. _He must of given that to her. Oh this is just depressing._ The Phantom picked up the rose and started to sing. "Oh gosh not again…"

 _"I gave you my music, made your song take wing._

 _And now, how you've repaid me, denied me and betrayed me._

 _He was bound to love you, when he heard you sing._

 _Christine, Christine."_

At this point, he broke down into sobs. Mai felt a pang of sympathy for the poor man. _I will_ not _cry. I will_ not _cry. I will not-_ Mai let a tear slip down her cheek, after all it was a sad sight. Suddenly, the Phantom look up and fiercely glared at the statue in front of him. He ran to it with a new found vigour. _Well, talk about bipolar._ Mai raised her eyebrows as she watched the Phantom. He scrambled up the statue and held himself like a prow on a ship.

 _"You will curse the day you did not do,_

 _All that the Phantom asked of you!"_

The phantom screamed and sung that last words. _He really has a bad temper. Sexy…_ She snorted at the last thought. _He just killed your friend/co-worker. He is_ not _sexy._ Mai stepped out from behind the statue and walked towards the Phantom. "You know, if you weren't such a drama queen, you still might have a chance with her." She called out.

The Phantom's head whipped around. "What are you doing here!?" He hissed. Dropping down from the statue, he stalked towards Mai. She took a couple steps back. _Okay, the anger isn't sexy anymore._ The Phantom still kept advancing. He was like a lion, hunting his prey. _And he's willing to kill. Curse my stupid self. I should've kept my mouth shut!_ "What are you doing here!?" The Phantom repeated.

"I was just… enjoying the weather." Mai stuttered. _Why am I stuttering?! Pull yourself together!_ She raised her head, it gave her a sense of power. "What are _you_ doing here?" Mai retaliated.

"That's none of your business." The Phantom said.

"It seemed as if you were spying on them."

"I could say the same for you." He turned around and began to walk away, his cape swishing behind him.

Mai's face was that of amusement. "Like I said, if you stopped being dramatic and _killing_ people. You might actually achieve in getting Christine to loving you. Or possibly not hating you." The Phantom payed no heed to her words and continued walking. "UGH! Why does NOBODY listen to me!?" Mai stomped her foot. She looked up to the sky and sighed. _I actually give pretty good advice sometimes…_ Mai looked back to where the Phantom was. Instead, he wasn't there anymore. He seemingly disappeared. She rolled her eyes. "Like that dramatic."

 **AN: Review please, constructive criticism is welcome, along with PM's and questions. I'm thinking of writing a Stardust fan fic, if anyone likes the film, do tell in a review and ill give you a shout out!**

 **Edited: 5/1/17**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: The Aftermath**

The rooftop was cold and dry, Mai was left alone to ponder her thoughts. It seemed that at that moment, the whole Opera house had gone under. There was murder. There was love. There was a pervert who liked to kidnap people who were in said love. It was a very distressing time! Crossing her arms, Mai tried to warm herself up as she made her way back to her dorm. There was commotion all around, ballerinas crying from the horror of seeing a dead man and crewmen who were taking swigs while packing away the set pieces.

Mai was making her way to the dormitories, when she spotted Christine and Raoul saying goodbye, not far away. Mai waited patiently for the lovers to come apart. _Gosh they are really excited about this whole "secret engagement."_ Christine and Raoul had one last passionate kiss before Raoul made his way out of the Opera Populaire. Christine sighed and leaned against the wall behind her, not sensing Mai's new presence beside her.

"You know," Christine jumped at Mai's voice. "If you two are planning on having a 'secret engagement' you really shouldn't be kissing each other right out in the open." Mai leaned against the wall too, her left leg bent and her foot resting on the wall. "It sort of loses the meaning of 'secret'."

"SHHHHHH!" Christine put her spindly finger up to her lips. "How did you know that we were engaged?!" Her face was contorted to that of shock and mixed emotions.

Mai raised her eyebrows. "You two were just kissing brazenly in front of everyone. If I am not correct, kissing in public was seen as a very intimate gesture. So I can only guess… That you two are engaged, or are soon to be." Mai smiled at Christine's timid expression and small grin. _She must really love him… Geez, the Phantom is gonna be real pissed._

Christine blushed and lowered her gaze to the floor. After a few seconds, Christine looked up and cocked her head to the side. "Was?" She asked curiously.

Mai was confused. "What?"

"You said 'was', 'kissing _was_ seen as a very intimate gesture'." Christine stood upright and fully faced Mai.

After realising her mistake, Mai was quick to correct her incorrect use of words. "I meant 'is'. It _is_ considered very intimate! Why would I say 'was'? Psshhh I don't know why…" As Mai continued to mumble on, she slowly began to walk away from Christine, and the awkward situation that she was in.

Once a far enough distance away (two metres was enough for Mai), Mai turned her back on Christine and ran inside the nearby dormitory, intent on changing for bed. _Oh gosh! How stupid could I be?! Yeah Mai, just go ahead and nearly give away your secret, I'm_ sure _no one would notice._ Mai slammed the palm of her hand against her forehead. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Sighing, Mai changed out of her crew clothes and into a baggy nightgown. Stumbling onto her small single bed, she was soon joined by Meg who sat beside her. "Hello." Meg timidly said.

"Hello." Mai replied. "This whole day has been a disaster hasn't it?"

Meg nodded. "Hopefully it will all calm down tomorrow. After all, preparations are going to have to start for the ball."

"The ball? What ball?" Mai turned on the bed to face Meg.

Meg turned to face her friend as well. "The masquerade ball of course! It is next week! Don't tell me you didn't know, I _already_ have my dress and mask ready." Mai bit her lip. _I guess I am a little behind._

"No I didn't know. Who is invited? Can I come?" Mai inquired. She had never been to a ball in her life, and by God she was not missing a _masquerade_ ball by any chance.

Meg bit her lip. "Well the choir is allowed to go so they can perform a song, and I am allowed to go because my mother is Mme. Giry. No stagehands were invited…"

Mai let out a deflated sigh. "Okay then. I guess you'll just have to tell me all about it when it's over." She flopped back onto her bed and released _another_ sad sigh. _Come on Meg, pick up the clue!_ Mai glanced back to Meg and frowned.

Meg frowned back in reply then got up to go to her own bed. "Wait." Meg stopped halfway to her bed. Mai perked up. _Ding ding ding! We have a winner!_ Meg turned back around to face Mai with a smile on her face. Mai, on the other had was struggling to compress her smile, and instead took on a sad and deflated persona. Meg rushed to Mai's side. "I have an idea! You could borrow an old costume from an old opera and come with me! No one will notice you because of your mask, and if anyone asks who you are, I could say you are a friend of Mme. Giry or the Prima Donna (Christine)!"

Meg was bouncing up and down at the brilliancy of her plan. Mai let out a huge smile and jumped up to hug Meg. "Oh Meg that would be _wonderful!_ What costume should I wear?! It has to be one with a mask…"

For the rest of that night Meg and Mai chatted on about plans for the masquerade ball, the murder that occurred not two hours ago nearly forgotten. Although there was one thing they did not know about. A set of ears were keenly listening in on the girl's chatter, soaking up information to form his master plan…

 **AN: Holey dooley I hope those reading this like it. It took me AGES! If you have just come back to this chapter and haven't read this story in a while I suggest you go back to chapter one because I have re-done it with a few changes which might help understand for the future chapters. I have also gone over and edited all the chapters.**

 **Review please (they are my life source btw), constructive criticism is welcomed, PM's are welcomed if you just want to chat etc.**

 **Edited: 5/1/17**


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